UNC sports information

CHAPEL HILL — Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury) received a Patterson Medal at Saturday’s UNC football game.

The Patterson Medal is the most prestigious athletics award given at the University of North Carolina.

The 101st class of Patterson Medal honorees includes Armando Bacot (men’s basketball), Fiona Crawley (women’s tennis), Austin Greaser,  the first men’s golfer to win a Patterson Medal; and Vance Honeycutt (baseball).

Patterson Medals are awarded primarily on career athletic accomplishments. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.

Recipients must have competed in at least three seasons for the Tar Heels and concluded their collegiate eligibility. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered in selecting the awards.

Honeycutt became one of the top five-tool players in college baseball, displaying the hitting, power, speed, defense and arm that earned him multiple first-team All-America honors as a junior in 2024. The centerfielder twice broke UNC’s single-season record for home runs (25 in as a freshman in 2022 and 28 in 2024) and is the Tar Heels’ career home run king with 65, fourth most in ACC history.

In 2024, he became the first Diamond Heel ever to earn first-team All-America honors as a player and first-team Academic All-America honors. He became the first player to win ACC Defensive Player-of-the Year honors for a second time and won an ABCA/Rawlings Gold glove.

He leads UNC with seven multi-home run games, is one of two Tar Heels with homers in five consecutive games, scored the fourth-most runs, has the fifth-most total bases, sixth-most steals and is 10th in runs batted in. He is the only Power 5 conference player ever with at least 60 career home runs and 70 stolen bases.

Honeycutt helped UNC win the 2022 ACC Tournament and 2024 regular-season title. He holds the UNC record with 10 homers in NCAA Tournament play, had two walk-off hits in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and led Carolina to the College World Series, where UNC tied for fifth.

“Vance is an extraordinary player and exceptional young man,” says head coach Scott Forbes. “He has been a leader in our program for three years and led us to the College World Series this year. He leads by example and plays the game the right way. Vance has been a great representative of our baseball program and university on the field and in the community. He is the embodiment of a student-athlete and takes pride in doing everything like a champion.”